Clan x86

General Forums => Gaming => Tabletop Gaming/RPGs => Topic started by: iago on January 31, 2008, 09:42:38 am

Title: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 09:42:38 am
I just finished the 8th and final (for now) military zombie. I intend to use them for a modern (1990s) game, despite the fact that they're in WW2 German uniforms. But the way I see it, close enough!

The zombies themselves are from "Secrets of the Third Reich (http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=126_146)" (by Westwind Productions). The miniatures are cool and were fun to paint, but they aren't the greatest sculpts. A lot of little mistakes. But I'm still quite happy with them!

You can view the whole album here (http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/index.php?action=albums&album_id=653), but I'll post smaller versions of them all inline for convenience.

Zombie 1
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5197.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5199.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5198.jpg)


Zombie 2
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5201.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5202.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5200.jpg)

Zombie 3
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5203.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5204.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5205.jpg)

Zombie 4
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5206.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5208.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5207.jpg)

Zombie 5
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5213.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5214.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5215.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5216.jpg)

Zombie 6
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5217.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5218.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5219.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5220.jpg)

Zombie 7
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5222.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5223.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5224.jpg)

Zombie 8
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5226.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5227.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5228.jpg)(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/320x240/5229.jpg)

And, finally, here are a couple group shots of the miniature horde:
(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/640x480/5231.jpg)

(http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/640x480/5232.jpg)
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: Blaze on January 31, 2008, 11:36:03 am
The thumbnails don't look very good compared to the higher resolution ones on OSPAP2.  I think I still like #5 the best; He's awesome.  :)
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 11:46:38 am
Speaking of which, what did you think of the three combo pictures? (bang (http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/index.php?action=picture&picture_id=5221), bang (http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/index.php?action=picture&picture_id=5225), and bang (http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/index.php?action=picture&picture_id=5230)? I'm thinking of moving exclusively to that style, rather than having individual pictures. You're basically the only one who looks, so what do you think?
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: Blaze on January 31, 2008, 11:49:52 am
I like it, but would it be possible for them to be PNG rather than JPEG?  The distortion is distracting.  :P

Oh, and I love the first group shot (link (http://www.skullsecurity.org/ospap2/thumbnails/640x480/5231.jpg))
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 11:53:21 am
Yeah, I think it's possible to make them .png, but for images like this png takes waaayyy more space (like 10x as much), so I try to avoid it..
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: Blaze on January 31, 2008, 11:55:52 am
It's just most of the detail gets lost when you save them as a low-quality JPEG and when the details aren't really that big to begin with, you lose a lot.  :\
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 12:25:26 pm
Yeah, I know what you mean. Do you think they're ok on the site? Is it just the ones in the thread that are bad?

I could also save as a higher-quality jpeg, that could help.
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: leet_muffin on January 31, 2008, 05:48:17 pm
I have and wear a M-65 jacket like they're wearing, so, theoretically, it does work with the 1990's.
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 06:53:04 pm
True, but it's supposed to be an American army base. Ohwell. :)
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: Mythix on January 31, 2008, 07:36:15 pm
Looks awesome sir.

Are you using enamel or acrylic based paint for your miniatures? I've been using enamel on my paintings and such lately (my steel 28MM pours) It shows up well it's just sort of messy, I suppose I could ease my pain by getting a magnifier and some finer brushes I suppose.
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 09:00:51 pm
I have a magnifier light, which makes a world of difference. I highly recommend picking one up. I got mine for like $10 at Stables or Rona or something.

For brushes, I use three:
* For most details and general painting, I use a 5/0. It's extremely rare for me to use a 10/0, although I do sometimes.
* For basecoats of a single colour, bigger areas, and stuff like that, I use a "1"
* For big inaccurate stuff, basecoating the whole fig (ie, priming), doing bases, etc, I use a big, short, stiffer brush that I don't mind ruining (I was using a 1/4" flat one, but I found I needed something pointy)

For all of it, I recommend using synthetic ones, not animal ones. First of all, synthetic is cheaper. Second, you aren't hurting animals (like sables). And finally, and probably most importantly, the synthetic ones (in my experience, at least) are more durable and keep a tip longer. I find that a $3 brush will last me ~10 miniatures before it's too bent/split to use.

Acrylic is 100x easier to work with than enamel, so I recommend that. I don't know any miniature games who use anything else (and I know quite a few). The brand of paint I use is Citadel (made by Games Workshop). You can see it a bit in the last couple pictures. But it's expensive to buy and cheaply made, so I don't recommend it. I've heard a lot of good things about Foundry's paint, although I've only ever used GW. My friend swears by Vallejo, and I tend to trust his opinion, so that might be worth a try, too.

Also, a good forum for this kind of stuff is the Lead Adventures forum, http://forum.backofbeyond.de, if you're interested. Most of my miniature posts here are copied directly to there. I don't post much new stuff there, but the couple times I've asked a question I always get an awesome answer.

So yeah, there you go. Let me know if you have any other questions. Might be an idea to start a new thread, though.

PS: I'll post a picture of my workspace later. I was about to, something else came up!
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: leet_muffin on January 31, 2008, 11:13:01 pm
True, but it's supposed to be an American army base. Ohwell. :)

As far as I'm aware, these jackets are still in use, just now they have zippers as opposed to buttons. (Also, availability for a hood.)
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 11:17:28 pm
True, but it's supposed to be an American army base. Ohwell. :)

As far as I'm aware, these jackets are still in use, just now they have zippers as opposed to buttons. (Also, availability for a hood.)

Nice! But everybody still recognizes them as either WW2 Germans or Germans, though. But whatever, I can live with being close enough.
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: leet_muffin on January 31, 2008, 11:28:56 pm
Either way, most comfortable jacket ever.
Title: Re: Army Zombies
Post by: iago on January 31, 2008, 11:29:36 pm
Are the pants any good? They look silly, but nice and loose. :)